In 1939, the German born scientist Albert Einstein had informed President Roosevelt about the possibility of creating a powerful bomb. The bomb was said to be able to creating a massive explosion by splitting the atom . Einstein as well as other scientists feared that Germany might develop such a bomb first. In 1942, the United States set up a secret project called the Manhattan Project, to develop the first atomic bomb. Roosevelt died in April 1945, and Vice President Harry S. Truman became President of the United States. At the Potsdam Conference, Truman learned of the successful test explosion of the atomic bomb and informed the other Allied leaders, that the atomic bomb was ready for use. The United States, Britain, and China then issued a statement threatening to destroy Japan unless it surrendered unconditionally.

On August 6, 1945, at precisely 8:16 a.m., the first atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima, Japan, just seconds after leaving the Enola Gay.

This image was selected as a picture of the week o...

Nagasaki, Japan. September 24, 1945, 6 weeks after...

Ground Zero marker in Nagasaki, Japan

Its blast was equivalent to that of 20,000 tons of TNT. Everything within four square miles was decimated. On August 9, 1945, the second atomic bomb exploded at approximately 11:01 a.m. in Nagasaki, Japan, after being dropped from the B-29 Bockscar. August 6th, 1945, 70,000 lives were ended in a matter of seconds. The United States had dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Today many argue over whether or not the US should have taken such a drastic measure. Was it really necessary that we drop such a devastating weapon? Bottom line, yes, it was. The best thing for us to do was end the war quick with the least number of American casualties possible. What if we hadn't dropped the bomb? The war would have continued, and there would have almost certainly been more deaths. The Japanese...

Citation styles:

The Atomic Bomb : a reflection essay following a class debate. (2004, June 03). In WriteWork.com. Retrieved 04:34, March 20, 2018, from http://www.writework.com/essay/atomic-bomb-reflection-essay-following-class-debate

More North American History essays:

... testing, since they were at the time the only squadron which had authorization to nuclear weapons. This theory was discounted by most, saying that this kind of deformation would have caused a human being to die before such damage could occur. Albert Einstein ...

... ever since. The press release announcing the unusual event was issued by the Commander of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell Army Air Field, Colonel William Blanchard, who later went on to become a four-star general and Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. That the weather balloon story ...

... The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it.' Although this may sound ludicrous, we can see many example of this in the world's history. One example would have to be the John Fitzgerald Kennedy assassination. For over thirty years the people of the United States ...

... female elected officials of United States. We had our own female leaders to study that not much was taught about female leaders of other countries. But among the exception was Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of one the greatest American President. Though, she was the wife of Franklin Roosevelt, she ...

... one of the worst serial killers in history. His antisocial personality and psychotic character made him feared across the country. After all was said and done Ted left behind a trail of bloody slayings that included the deaths of 36 young women and spanned through four states. The ...

9 pages3194Nov/19964.5

Students & Profs. say about us:

"Good news: you can turn to other's writing help. WriteWork has over 100,000 sample papers"